Numerous examples of medical systems having a plurality of components embodied separately from one another which are intended to communicate with one another are known from medical technology. The plurality of components comprise at least one medical user element and at least one control device. The user element can be a personal medical element, for example having a measurement function and/or a medication function. User elements of this type are generally driven and/or read by at least one control device. The control device can provide a user interface, for example, by means of which a user (for example a patient or a healthy person) can control the system or can interrogate information of the system. Examples of medical systems of this type are presented in US 2005/0113886A1 Implantable medical system with long range telemetry by Fischell et al. (May 26, 2005); U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,670B Implantable medical device telemetry processor by Almendinger et al. (May 18, 2004); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,155B2 Tactile feedback for indicating validity of communications link with an implantable medical device by Behm (Jun. 22, 2004).
A challenge in the case of medical systems of this type consists in the connection of the individual components of these systems. In this case a wireless data connection, that is to say a connection in which a data exchange is made possible in the first place not via artificial lines (such as, for example, cables, interfaces or plugs), rather the data exchange takes place by means of electromagnetic waves, is often preferable to a wire-based data exchange for reasons of practicability. In the case of a wireless data exchange, however, in medical systems the particular challenge consists in the fact that, on the one hand, an interoperability of the individual components has to be ensured without a user (for example a patient of childhood age or older persons) having to perform complex technical measures for this purpose. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure that sensitive personal data such as control commands which are communicated to a user element or measurement data which are communicated to the control device by the user element reach the correct addressee. Thus, in particular, the operability, which can be understood to mean a plug-and-play interoperability, for example, must not be implemented so widely that new devices are automatically integrated into the medical systems which are not intended to belong to the latter, such as user elements of other users, for example. In this case, plug-and-play concepts are generally understood to mean concepts in which new hardware components can be added to systems and are recognized by the system, without a separate driver having to be loaded for this purpose. This can lead, for example, to personal measurement data being revealed in an undesirable manner, or even to the erroneous addressing of control commands, with possibly fatal medical consequences. For this purpose, standards which serve this purpose and which are combined under IEEE 11073, for example, are already known from medical technology.
A particular difficulty is posed in the case of medical systems which have at least one diagnostic function, for example in diagnostic measuring systems. Examples of such medical systems are so-called continuous monitoring glucose systems, which are already commercially available at the present time. In this case, in current systems, the individual components, such as, for example, disposables, re-usables and also read-out and data management components, are generally sold together in a set. However, it is also possible for system parts to be procured subsequently and put into operation later. In this case, the individual components are individually put into operation and, if appropriate, coordinated with one another or allocated to one another by the user.
Particularly in the case of diabetes self-monitoring systems, but also in the case of other diagnostic measuring systems, consumable materials are generally used, such as sensors, for example. Said sensors carry in part complex, specific information which they have to convey to the target system, for example a control device, during use. On the other hand, collected data records are generally sent to peripheral computer systems for more extensive conditioning or processing. Such activities generally require a high degree of organization and coordination by the operator.
Particularly in diagnostic measuring systems of this type, but also in differently configured medical systems and primarily with the advent of new multi-sensor systems (for example body area networks, BANs), the development of a plug-and-play technology has hitherto either still not been introduced at all or been developed only insufficiently. In many cases this has the effect that users, who are generally not educated in the technological field, have difficulties in dealing with the complex technology unless the users are guided and trained in a manner involving a high outlay. However, such guidance and training requires extensive efforts on the part of the system supplier with regard to the configuration of user manuals or training measures.
In many cases there is a further problem with consumable materials, such as, for example, test strips or other types of sensors. Here, for process-technological reasons, in many cases it is necessary to determine calibration data and convey them to the consumable material in the form of a separate data carrier. These data have to be transmitted to the measuring or evaluation device when the consumable material is started up, such that said device can, if appropriate, carry out a correction of the measurement values determined. In many cases, however, data and consumable material are not necessarily assigned physically to one another, such that the consumable material and the data can be mixed up upon the re-initialization of system components, but to an increased extent also when newly equipping a system with consumable material. This can lead to incorrect measurement results and possibly serious medical consequences.
Furthermore, problems can occur in components that communicate by radio technology. As explained above, such connections between the individual components are not unambiguously defined and not unambiguously visible, as is possible particularly in the case of networked connections or connections connected by cables or optical links. Radio connections are possible for example through or across natural obstacles such as walls or the like. Many modern radio networks are set up by definition on their own authority by virtue of potential network components independently identifying themselves and providing possible data exchange. This means that components of the networks can communicate with one another without the user having to intervene actively for this purpose. In this case, however, generally no specific user data, that is to say private data, in particular, are exchanged yet. If such personal or private data are intended to be transmitted, then generally a so-called authentication has to be carried out beforehand. This can be effected for example by a manual inputting of numbers and/or codes directly into the relevant components which are intended to communicate with one another. What is problematic about this authentication, however, is that it presupposes an active and complex activity on the part of the user, which can be susceptible to errors particularly in the case of use by older patients or children. Thus, particularly in the case of long series of numbers being input, which is associated with a considerable complexity anyway, incorrect inputs can easily occur, which in turn can lead to malfunctions of the system.
These malfunctions increase the risk for medical networks, which can be beset with a risk anyway for example on account of numerous possibilities for incorrect operation. Thus, by way of example, the insertion of consumable material and of auxiliary materials such as batteries or memory components, for example, by a user can be associated with incorrect operation, for example polarity reversal or incorrect contact-making. This can lead to malfunctions and damage in the medical network. Generally, therefore, the start-up of individual system components or entire networks necessitates comprehensive, often difficult to understand documentation, which causes costs, requires space and generally is not noticed or read by the user at all, or only in an error situation.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a medical system which at least substantially avoids the disadvantages of known medical systems. In particular, the medical system should be able to independently identify new system components, in particular new medical consumable materials, and to integrate them securely and reliably with the least possible effort for the user.